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Captain...

Climate change: What can we do?

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With a new David Attenborough documentary on Thursday and climate change protests in London going on at the moment we’ve all known the risks for a while but what can we do?

 

I'm by no means an eco warrior I try my best to do my bit but enjoy a certain quality of life that means I’m not going to live off mung beans and rain water in a yurt. We have tried over the last few years to make changes that don’t necessarily impact our lives but do a bit more.

 

We signed up to bulb as our electricity provider (it’s more a symbolic gesture than anything else, all electricity goes into the same pot, and bulb buying only renewable energy doesn’t actually increase the amount or viability of renewable energy). We use biodegradable nappies and are going to try cloth ones. We drive a hybrid. We sometimes use oat milk instead of cows milk and quorn instead of meat. 

 

Most of these are more expensive/less convenient. We have found one product that is a bit of a no brainer for us. Smol. Laundry and dishwasher tablets delivered through your letter box, minimal packaging, fully recyclable, really convenient and as far as I can tell just as good as big brands at a lower price. (Sorry if it sounds like an advert, I’m just really impressed with them and how good they are).

 

So so what is your eco-no-brainer a simple change we could make to make the world a little greener?

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Stop using straws, especially plastic ones. Don't put fruit and veg in plastic bags at the supermarket. Do the washing machine at 30 degrees. Have one meat-free day or even just evening meal a week.

 

So many little things we can do that you barely even notice but collectively make a significant difference.

 

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Just now, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Photovoltaic panels mandatory on all new builds. 

Fully agree with you on that one, but not one that normal people can do. I would love to put up solar panels but I live in a flat so makes it difficult.

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As you point out, living ecologically is adversely proportionate to living economically... to a degree.

 

Because in third world countries, where people are truly "poor", the general public have a very small impact on the factors attributed to climate change.

 

It's one of the great mysteries of the First World that to live this way in the First World comes at considerable cost.

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1 minute ago, ealingfox said:

Stop using straws, especially plastic ones. Don't put fruit and veg in plastic bags at the supermarket. Do the washing machine at 30 degrees. Have one meat-free day or even just evening meal a week.

 

So many little things we can do that you barely even notice but collectively make a significant difference.

 

I try and do that, once I kept my onions loose and when I got to the till the woman put them in a plastic bag to weigh them :@

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2 minutes ago, ealingfox said:

Stop using straws, especially plastic ones. Don't put fruit and veg in plastic bags at the supermarket. Do the washing machine at 30 degrees. Have one meat-free day or even just evening meal a week.

 

So many little things we can do that you barely even notice but collectively make a significant difference.

 

Also, eat what you buy! Don't go buying stuff you'll never eat. So much food waste - disgusting in a world where people are starving.

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2 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

As you point out, living ecologically is adversely proportionate to living economically... to a degree.

 

Because in third world countries, where people are truly "poor", the general public have a very small impact on the factors attributed to climate change.

 

It's one of the great mysteries of the First World that to live this way in the First World comes at considerable cost.

When I saw you’d replied I did wonder if it was to comment on having laundry and dishwasher tablets delivered through the post :D. It is a somewhat ironic but no great mystery everyone strives to better themselves and are reluctant to give up the things they get pleasure from even if it costs someone else more. 

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2 minutes ago, Captain... said:

When I saw you’d replied I did wonder if it was to comment on having laundry and dishwasher tablets delivered through the post :D. It is a somewhat ironic but no great mystery everyone strives to better themselves and are reluctant to give up the things they get pleasure from even if it costs someone else more. 

Ha! The amount of tiny objects I deliver from China is mind-numbing. Simple stuff like plastic funnels, rubber pet toys, spoons... flown halfway round the world just so you don't have to walk down an extra aisle at the supermarket when you do your weekly shop.

 

But your mention of washing powder... I have delivered the little balls that dispense the liquid/powder, ordered from the company that manufacture the washing powder (which, let's face it, is either Johnson & Johnson or Lever Bros.) because they lost theirs and couldn't wait until they bought their next pack.

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In simple terms, could someone please explain why eating less meat helps climate change? :dunno:

 

I get the whole renewable energy, recycling thing, but how does eating less meat help things?

 

Thanking you...

 

Sorry just seen @David Guiza post above. Are you suggesting we stop breeding cows because they fart a lot? :dunno:

 

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1 minute ago, Izzy said:

In simple terms, could someone please explain why eating less meat helps climate change? :dunno:

 

I get the whole renewable energy, recycling thing, but how does eating less meat help things?

 

Thanking you...

 

 

19 minutes ago, David Guiza said:

Eating less meat and dairy is definitely a massive one. If cows were their own nation they would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China and the US (and it would be utterly terrifying).

 

 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, David Guiza said:

Eating less meat and dairy is definitely a massive one. If cows were their own nation they would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China and the US (and it would be utterly terrifying).

 

 

 

 

They'd surely have to call it Cattleonia...

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Guest MattP

I've cut down massively on plastic and reuse a lot of things, that's as much to do with what we are doing in the oceans than the issue of climate change though.

No way I'm ever changing my diet or anything like that, absolutely nothing wrong with eating meat. I do tip my hat to those who have seriously changed their life though because they care so much about the issue to the point of not having cars or flying to go on holiday - it's a really principled thing to do.

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At an everyday level, there are a few things we can do - change lightbulbs and the like to reduce the general electricity consumption of a house, and solar panels etc to likewise reduce the net consumption from a classic grid.

 

But, to be honest, the change also has to come from the very top. There are just 100 companies responsible for over 70% of all global emissions over the last 25 years:

 

https://www.sciencealert.com/these-100-companies-are-to-blame-for-71-of-the-world-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions

 

You might say that all these companies are doing are fulfilling a demand, and of course they exist to do this (for the most part), but it does indicate that change has to be unified and across the board at a high level if it's actually going to mean anything. And those changes have to include a damn quick phased cessation of oil, gas and coal being used for power generation around the world - that's really the nub and the crux of it, it's responsible for not only more greenhouse gas emission than any other source, but more pollution of other types too. DG above makes a good point about animal agriculture above too, but I do think that breaking the hold those three sectors have on power generation in many places is the more palatable place to start.

 

So...do those things at home to do your small part, but possibly the best thing you can do is to apply pressure higher and get other people to do so too.

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6 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

At an everyday level, there are a few things we can do - change lightbulbs and the like to reduce the general electricity consumption of a house, and solar panels etc to likewise reduce the net consumption from a classic grid.

 

But, to be honest, the change also has to come from the very top. There are just 100 companies responsible for over 70% of all global emissions over the last 25 years:

 

https://www.sciencealert.com/these-100-companies-are-to-blame-for-71-of-the-world-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions

 

You might say that all these companies are doing are fulfilling a demand, and of course they exist to do this (for the most part), but it does indicate that change has to be unified and across the board at a high level if it's actually going to mean anything. And those changes have to include a damn quick phased cessation of oil, gas and coal being used for power generation around the world - that's really the nub and the crux of it, it's responsible for not only more greenhouse gas emission than any other source, but more pollution of other types too. DG above makes a good point about animal agriculture above too, but I do think that breaking the hold those three sectors have on power generation in many places is the more palatable place to start.

 

So...do those things at home to do your small part, but possibly the best thing you can do is to apply pressure higher and get other people to do so too.

One way to do that is to support eco friendly companies like Smol, Ecover, bulb, quorn, beaming-baby. If big companies see that they are losing customers to more eco-friendly brands they might start changing.

 

The news that Guinness are now going plastic free is a sign of how things are going but it cost them £3m to do so. We can reward those companies that are doing their bitand abandoned those market leaders that feel untouchable.

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Getting rid of thick c**ts like Trump is a start. 

 

His indifference, punctuated by bursts of mocking disdain, toward climate change has been indulged for far too long by the US. He's called climate science “bullshit,” and defenestrated federal rules designed to cut planet-warming emissions. The Paris climate agreement. The cutbacks of the US EPA. 

 

His administration's energy-first agenda is at odds with the what pretty much the entire civilised world understands is happening to the planet.

 

He's ignoring the science.

 

The man at the helm of the world's largest economy went on record saying that climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese to stifle US manufacturing.

 

A HOAX INVENTED BY THE CHINESE.

 

We cannot progress if the people of the world continue to allow morons like this to attain positions of power.

 

 

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17 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

 

But, to be honest, the change also has to come from the very top. There are just 100 companies responsible for over 70% of all global emissions over the last 25 years:

 

https://www.sciencealert.com/these-100-companies-are-to-blame-for-71-of-the-world-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions

 

My extensive recent research on cows (:whistle:) suggests they are responsible for 18% of global emissions.

 

Add this to the 70% of these 100 companies and that doesn't seem to leave much that you, me and average Joe can do about it really...:dunno:

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5 minutes ago, Izzy said:

My extensive recent research on cows (:whistle:) suggests they are responsible for 18% of global emissions.

 

Add this to the 70% of these 100 companies and that doesn't seem to leave much that you, me and average Joe can do about it really...:dunno:

 

The most powerful weapons we have are consumer boycotts of these companies and electing politicians devoted to change. 

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1 hour ago, David Guiza said:

Eating less meat and dairy is definitely a massive one. If cows were their own nation they would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China and the US (and it would be utterly terrifying).

 

 

We need better synthetic meat at a affordable price.  Otherwise all the carnivores will start to die of hunger.

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45 minutes ago, MattP said:

I've cut down massively on plastic and reuse a lot of things, that's as much to do with what we are doing in the oceans than the issue of climate change though.

No way I'm ever changing my diet or anything like that, absolutely nothing wrong with eating meat. I do tip my hat to those who have seriously changed their life though because they care so much about the issue to the point of not having cars or flying to go on holiday - it's a really principled thing to do.

That's why we need better synthetic meat, at a affordable price.  Cows are smelly stupid creatures, and should have there own country, and we should let them have it, by giving them Coventry, where they can die on there own accord.

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